Ender's Return
by Jakazul
Summary: This is a sequel to Ender's Shadow, instead of "Shadow of the Hedgemon". Ender's jeesh is recruited once again to fight a war, but this time on the earth. Bad summary, good story. (please R&R) *Chapter 5 up* Crazy Tom mistake fixed
1. Beginnings

(C) info... I do not own Bean, Ender, Petra, Nikolai, Carlotta, Graff, etc. and probably never will.  
  
Ender's Return  
  
"We can't avoid the threat! You know that."  
  
"We can't avoid it, but we can ignore it until it grows."  
  
"Are you insane? Ignore it until it grows? Once it grows, it will be too late."  
  
"Ender Wiggins is off planet, do you know how old he'd be by the time we could get him back?"  
  
"Not according Bean."  
  
"Bea...Julian? He's 8 years old!"  
  
"You know as well as I do that the kid's smarter than either of us will ever be."  
  
"What does he propose?"  
  
"Cryogenic freezing."  
  
"We've been attempting that since the twentieth century. It's not going to happen."  
  
"It already has."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Will you not interrupt?"  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
"That wasn't my question."  
  
"Tell me."  
  
***  
  
Bean's "parents" stood at the door in front of Bean and Nikolai.  
  
"You can't do that!"  
  
"I'm sorry ma'am," the tall officer stated, "But the entire crew must come."  
  
"But these are our children! Haven't they been through enough?"  
  
"Ma'am, we need the entire crew. If you don't let us take them, we will have you arrested."  
  
Bean sat emotionless.   
  
Parents?  
  
It was an interesting way to put it, but it wasn't true.  
  
Bean lived with Julian and his wife.  
  
Supposedly he was genetically related, but they weren't his parents.  
  
Nikolai's parents definitely, but not Beans.  
  
They were his legal guardians, but with the bustle in the Earth now that the Formic war was over and the I.F was   
  
crumbling what was legality really?  
  
"Mother," yet again an odd term, but it pleased her, "I need to go."  
  
"What?"  
  
His parents turned and the guard grinned.  
  
"I said, I need to go."  
  
"I don't understand." said his mother.  
  
"The lives of every human in the world are at stake."  
  
He groaned inwardly.  
  
What a dramatic saying.  
  
He cared some.  
  
He didn't want everyone to die, but coming right down to it the moon colonies had humans in better shape.  
  
Still saying, "My life is at stake as well as the 3 or 4 odd people I care about or need for my success" didn't seem   
  
to be as good an argument.  
  
His mother wouldn't hurt a fly; much less let the earth die to keep her sons near her.  
  
"Alright." She sighed.  
  
The guard spoke, "You, Bean, you have five minutes to pack."  
  
"What about Nikolai?" Asked Bean's 'Father'.  
  
"He was not in the crew."  
  
So they weren't talking Dragon Squad, thought Bean.  
  
They were talking the ones in Ender's jeesh. That meant...  
  
"What about Wiggins?"  
  
"He's being brought back to earth immediately."  
  
"How?" Asked his mother.  
  
"That's confidential, I.F information."  
  
"But..."  
  
Bean almost spoke, but he felt no obligation.  
  
Why bother telling them?  
  
It wouldn't matter, they wouldn't believe them and if the information slipped it could make Bean's job even longer.  
  
Of course he didn't particularly want to return here.  
  
Rotterdam had been horrible, but he didn't like this 'family life'.  
  
Still he didn't want to waist time either.  
  
He walked to room and pulled out what he needed, stuffing it into a bag.  
  
He returned to the room.  
  
"I'm ready."  
  
"Julian!"  
  
His mother cried.  
  
Again he cringed.  
  
Bean may not be the best name, but Julian?  
  
It wasn't him.  
  
He hugged her.  
  
Not because he wanted to, but because it was what seemed right, and turned.  
  
"Goodbye."  
  
"How long till we see him again?"  
  
"I don't know ma'am." 


	2. Hegemony

"So the child is on the ship back?"  
  
"I'd hardly refer to him as a child."  
  
"That's what he is."  
  
"This 'child' is the reason you're butt isn't frying in a Formic laser right now."  
  
"FINE! Is Ender Wiggins on the ship back?"  
  
"He is being loaded as we speak."  
  
"What about his sister, Valentine isn't it?"  
  
"She's being kept on the planet."  
  
"Why isn't she being brought back also?"  
  
"Do you want to increase Peter Wiggins' mental state or decrease it?"  
  
"You mean her return might push him over the edge?"  
  
"The man's living with his parents writing political theories after a childhood of torturing animals and  
  
his brother... What do you think?"  
  
"Point taken."  
  
"Good."  
  
***  
  
The shuttle-car pulled into the cargo area of a large carrier-plane.  
  
"We've arrived."  
  
Bean rolled his eyes.  
  
As if the trip hadn't been bad enough without stating such obvious facts.  
  
Bean got out and stood by the door.  
  
"This way." Said the guard leading Bean toward the front of the plane.  
  
Bean jerked away and crossed to the front, pressing his palm onto the palm-pad to open the door.  
  
He walked to a seat and sat down, followed by the guard.  
  
The pilot walked in a few moments later and palmed open the door to the pilot's room.  
  
A moment later Bean heard the grinding of gears as the back closed.  
  
He studied his surroundings.  
  
It wasn't furnished with anything other than the seats and lights.  
  
Not even windows.  
  
That meant the trip wouldn't take long.  
  
No less than an hour.  
  
And any ship that could make a trip that long, that fast would be top-of-the-line.  
  
That meant this was serious.  
  
Taking the fact that the I.F was in bad legal and economical state, the fact that they would go to such   
  
pains to get Bean to his destination as quickly as possible at any cost meant this was serious.  
  
This was more than the world-wide hegemony he had been expecting.  
  
This was to soon to fight that war.  
  
Bean was fairly sure the war would come, just not yet.  
  
So this war was going to be on earth, but who with if not a hegemony.  
  
Or would it?  
  
Maybe this war would prevent a worldwide hegemony.  
  
Maybe it would institute it.  
  
But no, the I.F didn't want worldwide leadership.  
  
They would lose some lives if they could prevent that.  
  
So it would be to prevent one?  
  
Or was there another invasion coming?  
  
No.  
  
That made no since.  
  
Why not stop an invasion while in space?  
  
Why take the risk of letting them get closer?  
  
It must be preventing a worldwide hegemony.  
  
But did Bean really want to do so?  
  
Yes.  
  
He did, come to think of it.  
  
He may prefer worldwide power, but he wanted some say in it.  
  
Any hegemony wouldn't do.  
  
The earth needed the right hegemony and that required someone who knew about current politics with  
  
unbiased opinions.  
  
Bean could only think of two people like that.  
  
Himself and Peter Wiggins, but getting to Wiggins would be difficult once Ender returned and Ender was on   
  
his way back at that very moment.  
  
Frozen cryogenically and being shot a speeds too fast to measure back to earth.  
  
After all a fifty year journey back wouldn't do anyone any good.  
  
But what nation already had the power to take control.  
  
Or thought it did Bean realized.  
  
None of them actually had the power, but if their rulers were conceited enough they might take action ahead  
  
of schedule.  
  
The only people who might be in that position though were... Bean was, for the second time of the day, shocked.  
  
The only nation in that position was the US.  
  
They were flying into enemy zone. 


	3. Allies

"Wiggins is back on earth then?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And this Bean?"  
  
"Beans."  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"He will be arriving at his destination in 20 minutes."  
  
"No problems encountered?"  
  
"No problems."  
  
"Where is Wiggins?"  
  
"That information is restricted. I don't even know."  
  
"But he is being reunited with the others soon?"  
  
"He has to be woken up from his freezing first. Then he'll be put with the others in his crew."  
  
"What of the girl?"  
  
"Petra Arkanian has already arrived at the destination."  
  
"No difficulties with her?"  
  
"Other than the fact that she drove our crew insane...No."  
  
"Good. I expect this to go quickly."  
  
"It will if all goes well."  
  
"That's what I mean."  
  
***  
  
Bean was greeted on his arrival at NASA by a squadron of I.F officials carrying large, but impractical weapons   
  
and wearing face gear.  
  
Although this was all needless it confirmed Bean's theory.  
  
All of this cost lots of money that the I.F didn't have and that meant it was important.  
  
Bean realized that what he had just thought brought up something else.  
  
The I.F didn't have the money.  
  
So somebody else was helping them with findings, but who?  
  
It had to be someone against the rising hegemonic power.  
  
But who was there that was against the US that had money to fund something like this?  
  
In less than an hour they'd used up huge costs and getting Ender back would cost them even more.  
  
Who could provide funding?  
  
Russia was certainly against America at the time and they had the money, but they didn't seem like they would   
  
add extra expenses since they were undoubtedly building an army.  
  
But wouldn't everywhere be like that?  
  
No.  
  
China had funding, but it was too late to start building an army.  
  
But if they joined with the crumbling I.F...   
  
Bean thought for a few moments more.  
  
It had to be China.  
  
They had weaponry, they had funding, none of it was enough to possess a world, but a country?  
  
While he didn't know exactly what their economical status was, he knew it was good enough.  
  
This also meant that what he had thought was America was a smaller group within America.  
  
If China and the I.F waged war on the country it would start annoying both sides allies and no one wanted the war  
  
to start yet.  
  
Nobody was prepared.  
  
Preparing, but not ready.  
  
He was brought out of his thoughts as another squadron took him towards a guarded corridor.  
  
This was in NASA now.  
  
It had been renovated with new technologies and machinery, but it still looked old.  
  
The men took him into a small room and motioned for him to sit.  
  
There were other chairs so he would be joined soon.  
  
A door across the room opened and a squadron stepped in.  
  
Then came the rest of Ender's jeesh.  
  
Petra sat down across from him and he noticed a wave from Crazy Tom, but other than that no one seemed to notice  
  
him.  
  
No.  
  
They noticed him.  
  
They were just hostile.  
  
He knew they didn't hate him anymore, but it seemed they still didn't like the fact that the 8 year old, dwarfed by them, was   
  
smarter than they could ever hope to be.  
  
It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable.  
  
A new question arose in his mind.  
  
Why are we all sitting here?  
  
Mission briefing?  
  
No.  
  
They wouldn't do that yet.  
  
At least not until Wiggins got there and that shouldn't be for two days.  
  
Unless they had taken Bean's advice and put Ender in an even more intense freezing and sent him back at the most extreme  
  
speed possible.  
  
And why not?  
  
Graff was running for I.F position again and it looked like he would get it.  
  
That meant he had influence and, while Bean knew he irritated Graff to no end, he also knew Graff would know to take his advice  
  
seriously.  
  
That meant, if his calculations were correct, that Ender would be on earth in less than a half-hour.  
  
So were they waiting for Ender?  
  
Probably so.  
  
The I.F would want them to have some time to talk and see there old friends.  
  
Friends?  
  
Were any of these really Bean's friends?  
  
They were the closest he had to friends next to Sister Carlotta.  
  
So here he was, waiting while the others talked, to see Andrew Wiggins for the first time in almost two years. 


	4. Ender's Return

"They're at their destination with no problems then?"  
  
"All, but Wiggin."  
  
"But he will be arriving soon?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"And when he's there?"  
  
"We will inform them of their objective."  
  
"Their full objective?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"So you aren't informing them that they are on the enemy land?"  
  
"We will if the need arises."  
  
"Has Bean let on about anything?"  
  
"Beans has not said anything."  
  
"But you do think he knows?"  
  
"I didn't say that."  
  
"You do though?"  
  
"I wouldn't be surprised if he did."  
  
***  
  
Itu, Ambul, Petra, Tom, Bean and the rest sat at the oval table.  
  
Bean was still deep in thought.  
  
If their enemy wasn't America, but just a small group in America that had it's resources, it had to  
  
be someone with political power.  
  
A lot of political power.  
  
It wasn't the president.  
  
If it was him, the whole country would be after them, but it was a group.  
  
That meant there was some one stirring things up that had power.  
  
A kind of American Locke and Demosthenes possibly.  
  
After all, if Peter Wiggin had been able to evacuate the battle school from just a few news articles,  
  
what was to say someone else couldn't do a similar thing?  
  
Still, this was different.  
  
That had been for safety and peace, this was for war and for possession of the earth.  
  
The thought of Achilles crossed through his mind, but that wouldn't be logical.  
  
Achilles, if he ever escaped, would go first for revenge... yet that hadn't happened.  
  
So this was a whole new enemy.  
  
An old branch of the I.F that had tried to regain power?  
  
It seemed likely, but not in America.  
  
Then Bean realized what was wrong.  
  
He was limiting himself.  
  
He wasn't considering that this could be some other nation that had people in America.  
  
Just because the threat was there didn't mean there was the threat.  
  
Russia, yet again, was out.  
  
They were building an army, unready for an attack.  
  
Africa and Australia were out because of size.  
  
It would be suicide to start a war without armies in their own countries.  
  
But that only left a few places.  
  
South America?  
  
Too close.  
  
They could probably get the power, however once American governments found out it would be too  
  
close.  
  
A couple well aimed missiles and they'd be goners.  
  
That left only one place.  
  
China.  
  
True, they were helping with funding, but that just gave them an excuse to get men into the main bases.  
  
And since they would have no chance for hegemony once Russia's army was together, acting fast was  
  
their only option.  
  
Bean finally reached the realization that to fight back would be near impossible.  
  
They would be coming from both sides.  
  
The only real way to defeat them would be to collapse the base and sneak an attack.  
  
They couldn't do that yet though.  
  
It was too soon.  
  
China had to think they were victorious before they would be careless enough to be attacked on the sly.  
  
That was when the door opened again and a boy, not much taller than Bean himself stepped in.  
  
This one, however, did get respect from the others.  
  
And lots of it.  
  
***  
  
It had been almost four years since Ender had been on earth.  
  
He hadn't had time to miss it, but now...  
  
With space behind him and the year and a half of rest he was in better shape both physically and mentally.  
  
Now that he was back on earth everything seemed so far away.  
  
Now that battle school was dissolved it seemed that Bonzo Madrid and the fatalities of war weren't as bad  
  
as theyhad seemed.  
  
He would always be different, but now he was rested, refreshed, and ready.  
  
He had received the normal I.F mission briefing and eventually, had figured out what was going on.  
  
A small army from some nation wishing hegemonic power had taken roots in America, he and his jeesh were  
  
to get them out.  
  
It seemed fairly simple.  
  
That was why he was uneasy. In Ender's experience the things that felt simple rarely were and war, even a small  
  
battle like this, was never pretty.  
  
Finally, he and the guards reached a metal door.  
  
The man in front stepped forth and palmed it open.  
  
Inside Ender saw the one person he had been longing to see and, at the same time, dreading to see.  
  
"Ho Bean."  
  
***  
  
Bean snapped out of thought.  
  
It was the time he'd been so anxiously awaiting.  
  
"Ho Ender."  
  
The boy who was possibly the only person on the planet who could match   
  
wits with him.  
  
The boy who had signed into computers as God so long ago.  
  
The boy who many people looked up to, worshiped as if he were God.  
  
He looked at Ender.  
  
Space had done him good.  
  
He didn't look stressed, exhausted any of the things he'd looked at the Battle school. 


	5. Chat

"Wiggins' arrival went safely I trust?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"And he is at the old NASA building?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And he's been briefed on the mission?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And he knows the stakes?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
"What do you mean 'well'?"  
  
"He's been told what he needs to be told."  
  
"Does he know that this battle could decide the fate of the planet?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Did you not learn from our previous mistakes?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
"Then why haven't you told him?"  
  
"His mental stability could snap under that pressure."  
  
"He has to know."  
  
"Need I remind you of Bonzo Madrid?"  
  
"He has to know!"  
  
***  
  
Bean stared at Ender.  
  
It was two in the morning and everyone else was asleep.  
  
Ender had just asked a question Bean hadn't been expecting.  
  
"What do I think's goin' on? They briefed you didn't they."  
  
"Merda."  
  
"Probably so, but since when do you ask for my opinion?"  
  
"Since I know it'll be closer to the truth and I need to know what's going on."  
  
"No interruptions?"  
  
"Which one of us is the commander here?"  
  
"Wrong answer."  
  
"Alright Bean. No interruptions. Tell me."  
  
"The group we're fighting is a group of China's best army officials. They will be able to attack from both sides and probably inside."  
  
"China's funding this."  
  
"That gives them opportunity to spy."  
  
"So it's not a big deal? Why would they bring me back?"  
  
"Conceited too?"  
  
Ender glared, Bean smiled.  
  
"Alright Bean, tell me."  
  
"Tell you what?"  
  
"Why is this a big deal?"  
  
"Because if they defeat us, the only people qualified to lead a nation to victory, they can take the other nations."  
  
"Russia?"  
  
"They aren't prepared yet."  
  
"South America?"  
  
"I've been through every nation that could possibly do it."  
  
"You're sure it's China?"  
  
"I already said that."  
  
"So we need to make them think they've won and sneak attack."  
  
"I know."  
  
Ender almost made a comment, but stopped himself.  
  
There was no point.  
  
"I'm turning in."  
  
Bean didn't reply.  
  
After a few moments Ender stood and walked toward the door.  
  
After palming it opened Bean saw two guards lead him towards his room before the door hissed shut.  
  
He remained seated for several minutes and then got up.  
  
He crossed to the door and palmed it open.  
  
Walking down the corridor, flanked by guards, he realized that they had two problems on their hands.  
  
Once the information slipped out, as it surely would, that Ender was back on earth, it would cause a panic with every nation with any  
  
shot at hegemonic power trying to find the Napoleon of 2070's before anyone else did.  
  
That must be part of China's strategy.  
  
With the nations of the world scrambling for Ender they would be off guard.  
  
That meant China's forces, even though they were considerably smaller, could weaken the other nations.  
  
Destruction wasn't needed.  
  
All they needed was to have them bow down to them.  
  
Ender's return would have it's advantages, but also it's disadvantages.  
  
The question was which would outweigh the other.  
  
They reached Bean's room and showed him in.  
  
There was a bunk in one corner and a locker in the other.  
  
His suitcase (if you could call it that) lay on the bunk and a computer sat on a small desk at the back.  
  
He stepped in and closed the door, then set to work.  
  
After searching for an air vent, he put the desk under it.  
  
He doubted anyone would spy through the vents or barge into his room, but you could never be too careful.  
  
He then turned on the computer and hacked his way into the mainframe where he deleted all networks, screen monitors and anything  
  
else that might be used to spy on his work.  
  
After he had done this he clicked on the button labeled "Nets".  
  
The internet browsers came up and he chose one under politics, and then typed in "Demosthenes".  
  
After a second of collecting files the data scrolled out on the screens and Bean sat back to read.  
  
There was no point going to bed since it would be wake-up call in three hours and he wanted to know what Peter Wiggins had to say  
  
about China's hegemonic position. 


	6. Coming Soon

centerCHAPTER SIX IS ON IT'S WAY. br Sorry for the long delay,  
  
Thanks for all the reviews. I'm just putting this up to let you all know that  
  
I do plan on finishing the story soon.  
  
Thanks to all the fans out there, without you guys Ender might've been gone  
  
for good. br  
  
Jake/center 


End file.
